Original Post Date
2015-09-01 06:03 PM
Original Body
"you gotta party for your right to fight" -Public Enemy
On july 18, 2015 the first annual Black Love festival took place.
Organizers for this great but very under attended event were Eticia Brown, China Pharr and Leigh Davenport.
The event was held in Heron's Head Park in Bayview Hunters point. There were several food vendors as well as an assortment of arts and crafts vendors the music and dancing were continual.Sponsorship was in part from Farms to Grow, The national Cancer Institute and the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
I of course have mixed feelings about SFPD setting up a recruiting booth , but let's face it the cops were going to be there whether they were invited or not !
If we don't take time to celebrate our blackness and love one and other because of it movements like "Black Lives Matter" simply become empty slogans.
I have believed and advocated putting war and violence out of business by selling peace.
This event proves it is possible and was a grassroots effort.We shouldn't just have such events only on an annual basis we should do so monthly and even weekly whenever possible and live in the spirit of it on a daily basis!
Unfortunately some of the folks there seemed to look like they didn't feel like they belonged there but if you love somebody black or somebody black loves you isn't that enough?
In spite of the very low attendance I certainly hope the organizers continue with their efforts and hope that it spirals out to make similarly themed events.
When violence strikes our communities we should be quick to hold peace rallies where the violence took place regardless to who the victim or perpetrators are and hopefully "Black Love Festival " will be somewhere in the forefront to help show just how black lives matter !